Tag: Philadelphia home care

Early Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis: Building Your Care Team

Posted on by Peter R. Abraldes

An early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia can lead to a range of extreme emotions such as anxiety, depression, anger, or relief.  Although there is no cure for this progressive disease, with enough time the person living with dementia can prepare for the future.  The diagnosed person can establish the details of their own care before they are determined by others.

Philadelphia home care, Philadelphia dementia care
        Effective caregiving requires a team and a plan.

If you are a family caregiver, you must also prepare yourself for the future instead of reacting to changes as they occur.  It is not possible for one person to attend to all the emotional and physiological needs of another adult in the face of a progressive and terminal disease.  Often intergenerational lines are blurred, and the caregiver assumes multiple roles.

The person living with dementia will increasingly depend on their caregivers.  If you are the only one, they will depend exclusively on you to make sense of the world as they experience changes to their vision, sight, coordination, and speech.  Their memory will be impaired as tangles and plaques increase, neurological connectivity is disrupted, and brain tissue atrophies and is removed from the body.

Often, we make the comparison between raising a child and caring for an older adult.  However, unlike a child, older adults have collected a lifetime of experiences, even if they are no longer able to communicate them.  These experiences give older adults a sense of pride and expectations for how they are to be treated.  Even if they are unable to articulate their wants, they have established a sense of pride.  Eventually they will depend exclusively on their caregivers for assistance.  This means if you are the only caregiver, they will depend on you for 100% of their needs.  When building a relationship, it is important to incorporate the client into their own plan of care.  This is done easiest earlier in the disease progression.  If you wait too long to incorporate other caregivers into your team, the care recipient may be unwilling to accept care from anyone but you.

Even if the caregiver thinks they are physically able to provide care on their own, this care is ineffective.  Extreme stress inhibits our ability to perform our best.  Family caregivers often suppress their own needs and wants to attend to those of the person living with dementia.  Family caregivers find that they are completing the tasks, but without connecting to the care recipient and making mistakes that often lead to confrontation with the care recipient.

If you find yourself frustrated when providing care, consider evaluating yourself for signs of stress.  Click here to complete the assessment.

Qualified professionals are available to help you with the stresses associated with caregiving.  The Lutheran Settlement House offers a free Caregivers Reducing Stress program that creates an individualized program for you in the comfort of your own home.  This program is available for those living within Philadelphia County.  If interested, please visit their website here.

Have you built an effective care team?  Even if your stress levels are tolerable now, you will eventually need help.  Acting now prevents inadequate care and stress in the future.  It allows us to learn the stories of your loved one in time, so we can incorporate them to effectively connect while providing care.

Let us form part of your care team, call 610-323-9800 or complete this form.

 

NursePartners’ coordinates grocery services for our clients

Posted on by Peter R. Abraldes

Grocery shopping is not just a chore, it’s essential.  Older adults are especially susceptible to malnutrition (World Health Organization).  It is important that they receive enough nutrition for their bodies to operate well.  Although they may need less calories than younger people, older adults still need to consume the same nutrients.

This population is at increased risk for malnutrition if they have a few of the following risk factors, as identified by Frank W. Jackson, M.D.,

  • in general poor health
  • poor eating habits
  • sudden and unexpected weight changes
  • taking multiple medications
  • poor dental health, especially dental deterioration
  • economic difficulties, causing the older adult to not spend money for their own nourishment
  • loneliness and lack of social contacts; eating is a social activity
  • cognitive impairments that no longer allow the older adult to care for themselves

Remember that the senses are also changing for older adults.  If a food no longer tastes good, it becomes less desirable.  Try using new seasonings and pepper to revive old favorite foods (Elder One Stop).

It is important not only to buy and consume the groceries, but to discard those that have already expired.  Eating an expired food item puts you at risk for food poisoning.  Common symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, fever, nausea, and dizziness, among others (Health: One How To).

 

NursePartners coordinates grocery orders for clients.  We want to ensure that they are eating a well-balanced diet, consuming enough calories, and avoiding expired items.  Carepartners record what the client eats for each meal.  They do a weekly inventory all items in the refrigerator and cabinets and gives a report to our Administrative Assistant, Tarika Kirkley.  Tarika purchases the groceries online and coordinates the delivery.  A carepartner will be present to confirm the items received and place them away.

As you involve us in the process, it frees you time to enjoy the older adults in your life doing other activities.  To learn more about this and other services, call 610-323-9800.

 

Patience when caring for someone living with dementia

Posted on by Peter R. Abraldes

Patience is crucial when caring for someone living with dementia.  Often times the burden of care falls uneven on a spouse or a child who lives close to their parents.  It takes us a while, if at all, to realize that it takes more than one person to support another living with dementia.

When an interaction is not going as planned, we suggest the following steps:

 

best home care Philadelphia

1.) Step Back: It is okay to not have an immediate response.  Think before you react and ensure your facial and body language matches your words.  We want to make sure we are engaging visual stimuli before offering a verbal message.  As Teepa Snow suggests, engage the senses by offering cues in the following sequence: visual, verbal, touch.

If the person living with dementia is doing an undesirable activity, consider if the activity is dangerous to them or others.  If it is not, reassess the urgency of change.  Could this be a moment for connection?

 

2.) Respond instead of Reacting: A thorough response requires doing the analysis to see why we seek to change the current behavior.  Are we imposing our logic on their situation?  Could it be that we are not taking the time to enter their reality?  This can be a mentally draining task and is one of the reasons why caregivers become frustrated with the person entrusted in their care.

Sometimes we are not trying to correct a behavior, but rather a narrative.  A person living with dementia might be time traveling or experiencing a hallucination.  Instead of trying to reorient them to reality, take that time to ask them questions about their past or their visions.  Often times we can find our best moments of connection by patiently requesting that they tell us more.

Throughout our response, we want to incorporate the art of substitution before subtraction.  If we want to remove something from their hands, offer them something else to hold first.  If we want to free them from a hallucination, ask more questions.  Often times they will reach a point where their mind no longer can describe the often that does not exist.

 

3.) Make plans, but expect them to change: Put your agenda in your back pocket.  It is often very difficult for non-caregivers to understand why it takes so long to accomplish the activities of daily living.  Why does it take an hour to take a shower?  Why does it take two sittings to finish a meal?

Our approach matters, and unlike caring for a child, an older adult has lived a long life and is used to be being treated with dignity and respect.  Although their memories may have faded, these feelings of pride are deeply engrained.  We need to go with their flow, not the other way around.  We need to take extra measures that may not seem “logical” in order to satisfy their emotional needs.

A classic example of this would be wrapping a towel around the care recipient in the shower.  Although this might make the cleaning process more challenging, it allows the person being showered to feel less exposed to caregiver.

 

4.) Figure out what you can and cannot control:   We need to remember that activities are a means to connect with the person living with dementia.  If we are playing a known game, it is okay to throw out the rules.  For example, instead of playing a card game, why not sort the deck?  As the disease progresses, your loved one might derive more comfort from holding items versus sorting them.  This is okay.  We are learning to adapt to their changing senses and using these to find new ways to say hello.  If you are unfamiliar with GEM levels, learn more here.

Here are some ideas for activities for someone living with dementia.  At NursePartners, we provide activity baskets to our clients living with dementia.  These typically include coloring, puzzles, and cards.  Activities are introduced and rotated out as interests or abilities change.

 

5.) Take care of yourself: We impose our logic on the person living with dementia, but fail to apply it to ourselves.  No matter how much help you have, you also need a break!  Caring for a person living with dementia can be a daunting task.  If you are emotionally drained or physically inept to perform your role, you become less helpful for the person needing your care.  It is not selfish, but rather essential, to take time to enjoy your life and keep yourself healthy.  

Please ask us for more support resources.  NursePartners is a founding member of the National Aging in Place Council of Philadelphia.  We invest our time in this organization in order to comfortably refer you to resources in our community, some of which are free.

homecare3 Patience when caring for someone living with dementia

 

This article was inspired by Teepa Snow and a post by AgingCare.com.

 

 

 

 

 

The 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease

Posted on by Peter R. Abraldes

The Alzheimer’s Association presents the following as warnings signs of Alzheimer’s disease:

  1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life
  2. Challenges in planning or solving problems
  3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, work, or leisure
  4. Confusion with time or place
  5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
  6. New problems with words in speaking or writing
  7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
  8. Decreased or poor judgment
  9. Withdrawal from work or social activities
  10. Changes in mood and personality

memory loss, dementia care, Philadelphia dementia care, Montgomery County dementia care, Rosemont dementia care

As we age, our organs do not perform as before.  The brain is no exception.  Some natural cognitive decline is natural.  When presenting the early warning signs, it is important that we put each warning sign in its proper context.

It is also important to remember that each person has their own baseline.  We do not all have the same skills or personalities.  Life experiences and family relationships also impact how we develop as individuals.  In order to receive a proper diagnosis, a physician must take the time to fully understand the personality and life experiences.  Other factors such as  stress, depression, and vitamin deficiencies might be to blame.

  1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life
    • Forgetting the names of new classroom of students is normal.  This is different from being unable to remember the name of your spouse or children (if you have a few!).  Typically we forget names, but are able to remember them on our own later.
  2. Challenges in planning or solving problems
    • This is relative to your problem solving skills when you were younger.  If these skills were never strong, they will also be weak as an older adult.
  3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, work, or leisure.
    • The key word is “familiar”.  If you have never been good at folding clothes, this is not a familiar task, and therefore there is no cause for concern that you still cannot do it well.
  4. Confusion with time or place
    • It is normal to write the year wrong in January or to think it is Tuesday when it is in fact Wednesday.  Life stresses causing us to loose track of the passage of small periods of time.  However, it is not normal to perceive yourself as being in the opposite season or many years in the past.
  5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
    • Vision generally worsens as we age.  Older adults aged 75+ typically have peripheral vision of about 45 degrees in each direction.  Older adults living with dementia will develop tunnel vision.  Eventually this vision becomes binocular and then monocular.  They will also have issues gauging distance while driving or recognizing the depth perception of items in a room.
  6. New problems with words in speaking or writing
    • Some older adults may have a stutter or become timid in large group settings.  Their energy level or stress can also impact their ability to speak well.  We also all forget the names of items, especially words that we use infrequently.  It is not normal to forget words that are common to our every day life.  If we forget them, we may remember them by mentioning other related words.  If we think of the common word after this activity, this may be a sign of a developing cognitive impairment.
  7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
    • We all loose our keys, unless we are very disciplined!  We may leave them in our pockets, put them on the counter, or periodically forget to even bring them out of the car.  These are all normal acts.  What is abnormal is putting keys in the fruit bowl, refrigerator, or give them to a friendly stranger.
  8. Decreased or poor judgment
    • Related to the above, poor judgment might be falling victim to a sweepstakes scam or donating more than you can afford.  We all have different levels of judgment, but typically this decline is hard to uncover in family and friends.
  9. Withdrawal from work or social activities
    • This is especially relevant for extroverts.  If a person finds themselves suddenly lost in a conversation this could be an issue.  However, we should consider other issues such as depression or exhaustion.  Introverts may avoid social activities, but enjoy gatherings among family and a few friends.  If these behaviors change over the course of months or years, this might be cause for concern.
  10. Changes in mood and personality
    • These are differences that arise over the course of the medium and long term.  Keep in mind that life experiences can also permanently impact one’s personality.  It is important to take the time to understand if traumatic incidents are to blame.

 

 

 

 

Understanding Behaviors and Adapting Approaches in Dementia Care

Posted on by Peter R. Abraldes

Your role as caregiver, family member, or friend evolves with the progression of dementia.  Even faced with challenging behaviors, you can still connect with your loved one and fill their day with meaningful activities.  NursePartners is here to support you while your relationship evolves with the person living with dementia.

 

What is their behavior telling you?

We are constantly learning more about the brain’s ability to comprehend messages.  This includes messages that are delivered through speech versus writing, in a crowded space versus a one-on-one situation, or even a familiar voice versus one of a stranger.

Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias can cause people to act in unpredictable ways. Some individuals become anxious or aggressive while others repeat certain questions or gestures. Messages can be misinterpreted, surprising both the care recipient and caregiver. These types of reactions lead to misunderstanding, frustration, and tension.

It’s important to understand your loved one is not trying to be difficult and that these behaviors are also forms of communication.

dementia care Philadelphia, home care Philadelphia

 

Tips for managing behavioral changes

As carepartners, we need to adapt our delivery process throughout the progression of the disease. When we carry on a traditional conversation, we usually engage in a back and forth volley of information. When a person is diagnosed with dementia, it is important to realize that the three essential language skills for processing and sharing verbal messages need to be supported in different ways. These core linguistic skills are:

  • Vocabulary (the words – the meaning of the content)
  • Comprehension (receptive language – the ability to process the message)
  • Speech production (expressive language – the ability to deliver the message)

Certain retained skills will assist you in conveying a message:

  • Social chit-chat (the back and forth that can mask loss of comprehension, but covers in short simple conversations)
  • Rhythm of speech (this includes awareness of the rhythm of a question that is seeking an answer, as well as ability to sustain rhythm or hear a rhythm that sounds familiar).  Additionally it can and does signal changes in emotion – changes in frequency, intensity, or volume can indicate shifts in emotional state or discomfort.
  • Rhythmic speech as is present in music, poetry, prayer, counting and even spelling.

What you can do:

There are important supportive phrases that can help when they are used in combination with pauses, inflections, visual cues, props, and partial reflective statement to confirm what was said or south:

  1. Seek more information by being nonspecific, try phrases such as  “Tell me more about it.”
  2. Seek demonstration or visual representation with phrases such as  “Could you show me how you would use it?” or“Show me how you’d do it.”
  3. Offer simplified options, by using two options at a time, or encouraging yes/no responses.  Employ the use of object pronouns.

What can help:

Awareness, knowledge, skill and support for both parties.

Mary Stehle, licensed social worker and Senior Care Advisor says, “A person with Alzheimer’s who has lost the ability to understand and communicate through language is always looking for cues from us as to how to interpret the world. They are constantly reading our tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language. When we are tired, stressed, and resentful, they pick up on this and it often impacts them negatively.” It’s important to remember that asking for help is not an act of selfishness, it’s providing better care for both you and your loved one.

We can be by their side when you can’t be. If your loved one need home care assistance or relief – Contact us today.

NursePartners is committed to providing uncompromised care to those living with a diagnosis of dementia. Our carepartners work with each family to enable safety, comfort and happiness through home-care services.

Responding to Pacing Behavior in Dementia

Posted on by NursePartners

As a caretaker or family member, you may notice that sometimes a loved one with dementia can display signs of pacing. He or she may become restless, causing a need to move around. They might wander back and forth – sometimes to the point of exhaustion. Individuals who walkabout, may also feel agitated and take on repetitive moments.

When an individual with dementia starts to behave differently, this can often mistakenly be seen as a result of Dementia. It’s important to see beyond the behavior itself and think about what may be causing it. Looking at the underlying factors might help you identify the needs of your loved one and reduce these behaviors. Try to evaluate whether the pacing is problematic, or if you as a carepartner can alter your response to their behavior.

Rather than dismissing it, it is important to think about how to preserve their independence, dignity and safety.

 

img slide 3 Responding to Pacing Behavior in Dementia

So what causes pacing in Dementia?

  • Restlessness (as a symptom of dementia or a side effect of medication)
  • Relieving pain and discomfort
  • Boredom
  • Lack of physical activity
  • Feeling lost (searching for something familiar)
  • Responding to anxiety and stress
  • Need for the bathroom, hunger or thirst
  • Disorientation or confusion

Here’s how you can respond to pacing behavior:

  1.   Your loved one might wander or pace in response to basic needs like human contact, hunger, or thirst. Ensure that their basic needs are met, and that he or she is not in pain.
  2.   If night time walking or pacing is a particular issue, your loved one may have sleeping difficulties. Monitoring caffeine and alcohol consumption in the evenings, as well as avoiding daytime napping can reduce restlessness and pacing.
  3.   Constant pacing may also reveal that your loved one is not getting enough physical activity. Encouraging them to incorporate more exercise in their daily routine can reduce the spare energy exerted during restlessness.
  4.   New surroundings can trigger feelings of confusion and uncertainty. If you find that your loved one’s behavior has worsened due to a new location or surrounding, showing them familiar items can assure them that they belong. Your loved one may also need extra help finding their way about. It may be helpful to provide signs to familiarize them with their surroundings.
  5.   Offering meaningful activities that engage your loved one can relieve boredom and diminish pacing. Being occupied can provide them with a sense of purpose, keeping them mentally engaged and physically active.
  6.   If your loved one appears to be constantly distressed or the pacing worsens, call a physician to ask about possible medications that can help.

Our carepartners are dedicated to improving quality of life.  If your loved one need home care assistance or relief, our team would love to help: Contact Us Today.

NursePartners becomes the second SAGE-certified Pennsylvania home care company

Posted on by Peter R. Abraldes

SAGE Care LGBT Cultural Competency Training - 2017 Bronze

NursePartners, Inc. is proud to be the only home care company in Philadelphia that is SAGETM certified for LGBT Seniors.  As an Independence Business Alliance (“IBA”) member and sponsor for many years, we know that aging LGBT seniors face a unique set of challenges when it is time to receive personal care.  If they move into an assisted living community or nursing home, they may have to hide their identities or not participate in favorite activities.  This forced change is not only difficult, but it is one that should never happen.

 

We sought to make a difference by training 25% of our employees to better understand how to connect and care for the aging LGBT community.  The training taught employees the intergenerational and racial nuances that apply to LGBT older adults. We learned how respond to bias behavior, incorporated new vocabulary, and received an overview of federal protections.

Previously these same employees completed the GEMTM training, a 7.5-hour training module that refines approaches for working with clients living with dementia.  This training involves role playing with a dementia coach and working through challenging behaviors.  Many of the techniques in Teepa Snow’s Positive Physical Approach to CareTM can also be applied to clients not living with a diagnosis of dementia.  This is because we focus just as much on our approach as the quality of care delivered.

We are prepared to service older LGBT adults in the Philadelphia region.  The following are some of the tasks our carepartners can complete:

  • Bathing, Grooming, and Hygiene
  • Mobility Assistance
  • Transferring and Positioning
  • Feeding and Diet monitoring
  • Toileting and Incontinence Care
  • Meal Preparation
  • Laundry
  • Light Housekeeping
  • Grocery Shopping/Errands
  • Grocery Delivery Coordination
  • Transportation in private vehicles or public transportation
  • Medication Reminders

All clients receive a care of plan uniquely made for them.  These plans are developed by a registered nurse and adjusted accordingly as conditions change.

NursePartners values the relationship with the client as much as with their family.  We know that the journey may be challenging and we are here to offer support.

Effective Communication Strategies

Posted on by Peter R. Abraldes

Tomorrow Angela Geiger will present on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association. Angela is a certified dementia practitioner, registered nurse, and founder of NursePartners, Inc. We have been servicing older adults living with a diagnosis of dementia since 2002.

Effective communication is crucial for establishing a good relationship between the carepartner and the care recipient. You will learn new ways to “say hello” and connect as the disease progresses. Angela will show us how to incorporate the Positive Physical ApproachTM into daily interactions to make them more meaningful and successful.

She will also explain how we can connect through each of the senses. As the disease progresses, some senses are heightened. We will also learn how to use visual cuing over verbal cuing. Often those living with dementia invent words to communicate. We should anticipate these changes and react accordingly. By knowing the care recipient’s history, we will increase the odds of our success.

It is also important to ensure that the care recipient still feel competent and involved in their own care. We can make this possible by simplifying the decision process. This is done by minimizing distractions and communicating directly with the care recipient.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow at the Delaware Valley Veteran Home at 2pm.

The address is 2701 Southampton Road, Philadelphia, PA 19154.